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And that maybe I should have listened.
* * *
I avoided the cafeteria at lunch, lingering behind at my locker while everyone hurried off to eat and catch up with friends. Deciding I could hide out in the library, I set off in the right direction when a hand caught my wrist. “We need to talk.”
My eyes snapped to Malachi’s. “What the hell?” I hissed, glancing around. The hallway was almost empty. Malachi didn’t talk as he dragged me around the corner to the main stairwell.
“You went to Teller’s last night?”
“Let me guess. Jace told you?”
He ignored my question, which only irritated me all the more. “Becca,” he said like I was a child he was about to scold. “I told you I wasn’t going to be there.”
“And? I don’t need you to protect me, Malachi.”
He grumbled something under his breath, rubbing a hand back and forth over his head. “You can’t be going there alone. It’s not safe.”
“Not safe?” My voice rose, but I quickly lowered it, not wanting to draw attention. “You were the one who took me there. I didn’t ask to go. It’s just a bar. Jace seems like a good guy. He looked out for me.”He looked out for me last night when you weren’t there.
I knew it was unfair to think that. Malachi didn’t owe me anything, but if he thought it wasn’t safe for me to hang out there, then maybe he shouldn’t have taken me in the first place.
He let out a frustrated breath. “He’s a good guy, but that’s not the point. I didn’t think you’d start going there on your own.”
“Are you for real?” I stared at him incredulously. “You ignore me at school, barely talk to me at the bar, and then think you can pull this shit? What the hell is wrong with you people? I’m not some child who needs wrapping up in cotton wool. You don’t know what I’ve been through, what I’ve…” I smashed my lips together, realizing my slip.
Malachi’s eyes narrowed, and I glared back at him. He didn’t speak, and neither did I. This—whateverthiswas—was over as far as I was concerned. People around here made a habit of giving you things in one hand and snatching them away in the other, and I was done.
“See you around, Malachi.” I shouldered him out of the way and didn’t look back.
* * *
Afternoon classes dragged while my run-in with Malachi weighed heavily on my mind. Deep down, I knew he had every right to be pissed that I went to Teller’s alone. He took me there and he probably felt some kind of responsibility, but I thought he understood. Thought he got how much I needed somewhere to escape.
Before heading home, I went to stash some books in my locker. There was another note. I ripped it out of my locker and scanned the hallway for any signs of Kendall. She was watching me from across the hall with her arms folded over her chest, and her hip cocked to one side.
Refusing to be intimidated, I calmly closed my locker, hitched my bag over my shoulder, and walked straight toward her. She didn’t falter as I drew closer with the folded white note still in my hand. I didn’t open it. I didn’t care what was scrawled inside. As I passed her, I slowed down, my whole body shaking with anger. I held out my hand and crumpled the note before throwing it into the trash can behind her. Her glare turned from amused to furious, and a smug sense of satisfaction filled my chest. Maybe I was playing a dangerous game by baiting her, but it was too late now.
“Becca.” Her voice slowed me down, but I didn’t stop. “You really should pay attention.”
I held up my finger and flipped her off over my shoulder.
Kendall O’Hare could go to hell.
CHAPTER14
EVAN
“We’ve got a problem.”Malachi fell into step beside me as I cut across the parking lot at school.I tensed. He wasn’t a talker, much like myself, which meant if he was coming to me about something, then it involved Becca.
I slowed, turning to face him. “Go on…”
“I did something stupid.”
My jaw clenched as his eyes darted around, avoiding my face.“Malachi,” I growled.
“I took Becca to Teller’s.”
“Teller’s? That dive bar out on Delware Street? I don’t understand.”
